Mesothelioma Survival Rates, Asbestos Information, and Law suits

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is rare form of cancer caused by asbestos. It affects the tissue lining of various organs like the stomach, lungs, and heart. A cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath are symptoms. An estimated 20,000 cases occur in the USA each year. Mesothelioma care includes treatments like chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Often times a mesothelioma claim and settlement can be obtained to pay for these types of care.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a natural mineral that highly resistant to heat. For this reason it is used in the manufacturing of insulation, shingles, flooring, brakes, and many other products.

Asbestos does not break down in the body. If asbestos is inhaled, it will become caught in the fine linings of organ tissue. Significant amounts of asbestos inhalation cause irritation in the organs and result in mesothelioma. Because these fine sediments can not be removed, mesothelioma can not be permanently cured. If the sediments could somehow be removed, then the patient could be cured. However a procedure that can remove these fine sediments is not available.

Not all people who have consumed asbestos will develop mesothelioma. But inhaling even a small amount of asbestos can put a person at risk.

Who is most at risk for Mesothelioma?

​Mesothelioma most commonly occurs in the lungs of men born in the 1940s that have been exposed to asbestos or similarly toxic substances. High-risk occupations include building workers, especially plumbers and gas fitters, electricians and carpenters. Asbestos exposure at work is the primary construction and building maintenance account for a large proportion of these deaths. [1]

Mesothelioma survival rates

The age of the mesothelioma patient correlates with survival rates. Older patients have a lower survival rate:

"More than 50 percent of patients diagnosed before the age of 50 live one year, but less than 33 percent of patients 75 or older live the same amount of time. Rates are similar for long-term survival. Younger patients have a 20 percent chance of surviving a decade; older individuals have a 1 percent chance."

"The average age at diagnosis is 60, and from 1999 to 2010, nearly 80 percent of Americans who died from mesothelioma were older than 65." [2]

The mesothelioma survival rates are higher among older patients because on average they have additional health complications that come with old age.

​Filing a Mesothelioma claim

Every person who has contracted Mesothelioma has a high probability of winning a lawsuit. Most commonly, the patient seeking a mesothelioma lawsuit was exposed to asbestos by work done for their employer. Yet regardless of how a patient may have contracted mesothelioma, the lawyers and law firms that deal with mesothelioma lawsuits are capable of getting a settlement at no cost to the patient.